---
title: wherewithal — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «wherewithal» in the school dictionary: The wherewithal is the money or means needed to do something. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# wherewithal

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** wherewithal, He, I, They · **What happens:** be, mean, need, do, have, treat · **To what, where:** money, something, things, wherewithal, friends, boat · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«wherewithal» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 3 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [wherewithal in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/wherewithal.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The wherewithal is the money or means needed to do something.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wherewithal:m1:1
# text = The wherewithal is the money or means needed to do something.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	wherewithal	wherewithal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
8	needed	need	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	ccomp	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
11	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the wherewithal | the money |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the wherewithal *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **need** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 4 | **do** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: old use — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The wherewithal is the things needed for a task, such as food for a feast.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wherewithal:m2:1
# text = The wherewithal is the things needed for a task, such as food for a feast.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	wherewithal	wherewithal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
6	needed	need	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	13	case	_	_
12	as	as	ADP	IN	_	11	fixed	_	_
13	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
14	for	for	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	feast	feast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the wherewithal | the things |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **need** | participle |  | the things *not said here* |  |  |  | for a task and food for a feast | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He had the wherewithal to treat his friends.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wherewithal:x1:1
# text = He had the wherewithal to treat his friends.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	wherewithal	wherewithal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	treat	treat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	friends	friend	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | He | the wherewithal |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wherewithal=Patient |
| 2 | **treat** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* |  | his friends |  |  |  | vn equip-13.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent friend=Recipient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I have no wherewithal to buy a boat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wherewithal:x2:1
# text = I have no wherewithal to buy a boat.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	4	det	_	_
4	wherewithal	wherewithal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	buy	buy	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | I | no wherewithal |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wherewithal=Patient |
| 2 | **buy** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | a boat |  |  |  |  | vn accept-77.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent boat=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They lacked the wherewithal for the long journey.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wherewithal:x3:1
# text = They lacked the wherewithal for the long journey.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	lacked	lack	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	wherewithal	wherewithal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	journey	journey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lack** | past | They | the wherewithal |  |  |  | for the long journey | tree rules |

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**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

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